Colorado House Buyer

If you are relocating to Colorado Springs, or you are selling or buying a home there, then you can always benefit from the services of a realtor Colorado Springs.  A realtor will be able to assist you in finding the home most suited to your needs.  Their familiarity with the neighborhoods and property values puts them in the ideal position to assist you in finding the perfect home.

Once you know what type of home you would like to purchase, or rent, then it is important to seek out a reputable realtor.  It is always advisable to select an experienced realtor Colorado Springs.   You want to ensure that the realtor has been in business for a number of years, and has managed to close transactions on a regular basis.  There are many real estate offices and brokerages in Colorado Springs, so you should be able to locate one easily.

Purchasing a home can be a very difficult process; because of this, it is necessary to secure the services of competent real estate professionals, who are able to navigate you through the process. Be very clear in outlining to the realtor your ‘must haves’ those are the things you are not willing to compromise on, whether in relation to the purchase or sale of a home.

A realtor Colorado Springs has intimate knowledge of the neighborhoods.  This means they can direct you to an area that has the amenities you need.  Such things as recreational spaces, shopping areas, school districts, and business opportunities, are all important factors that can impact where you buy your home.   As a result, it makes sense to choose a realtor that is very knowledgeable about the city, as well as the surrounding communities.

The realtor will be able to access the available listings in the particular part of town that you have indicated a preference.  Armed with this information, you are able to quickly identify the available properties and prices.  Because the realtor Colorado Springs often gets information on houses as soon as they become available, you may be able to view homes as soon as they go on the market.  This can be a big help, as you can get first choice in finding the home that is just right for you.

The realtor should also have the expertise to assist with the legal issues relating to the sale or purchase. They should be familiar with all the legal aspects of the sale, including the paperwork involved.  This will ensure that they are able to properly to explain the different aspects of the transaction to you.  This is very important as the sale or purchase of a home is often a very overwhelming prospect for many individuals. However, with the necessary support to guide you through such issues as inspections, mortgage negotiations, and Title Insurance, the process can be made a lot easier.

If you are looking to purchase or sell a home in Colorado Springs, then be sure to contact a realtor Colorado Springs.  With their help the entire process can be smoother, shorter, and stress free.

If you have decided to purchase real estate Colorado Springs, then congratulations, you have made a very wise choice.  Colorado Springs is a wonderful place to live.  It has pleasant weather all year round, (not too hot and not too cold), growing businesses, scenic views, modern amenities, and very good school districts.

Perhaps one of the most important decisions you can make when buying property, is to retain the services of a reputable real estate agent.  They can take all the hassle out of buying a home.  They carefully examine the features you are looking for in a home, in order to obtain a comprehensive listing of homes from the MLS Colorado Springs.  Based on this report you can get a very good idea of the types of homes that are available in your budget.

Colorado Springs has homes to suit just about every budget, so you don’t have to worry about finding your ideal home. It depends on what you are looking for.  You can get homes from as low as $100,000 and others for as much as $6 mil; it all depends on your preference.

If you only have a very small amount for the down payment on a home, then you can take advantage of some deals on foreclosures.  There are foreclosures in some nice areas like Briargate and Broadmoor.    It is possible to get some foreclosures for as little as $1,000 down. Be sure to do a thorough research of what is available, or ask your real estate agent to do it for you.

If you prefer to move into a new home, then you can find a good variety of new homes in Colorado Springs. There are growing areas such as Northgate, where you can choose from a wide selection of newer homes. Northgate includes areas such as Trail Ridge, Falcons Nest, Northgate Highlands, and Stone Crossing.  Home options include modest starter homes as well as semi-custom style homes.  The price of homes in this region ranges from $200,000 to $480,000.

Southeast Colorado Springs is home to a growing community known as Soaring Eagles.  This development was completed in 2005 and has some well-built modest homes, some of which are 3500 sq. ft. in size. There are also some smaller homes which are 1200 sq. ft.  The homes are very reasonably priced.  In fact most are priced for less than $250,000.

Older style Victorian homes are also available in the older parts of the city.  Many of these homes can be found in the Old Colorado city area.  Prices for these older style homes often range from $150,000 to $420,000.

If you are looking to buy real estate Colorado Springs you won’t be disappointed as there is so much to choose from.  However, be sure you know exactly what you are looking for, and make sure to get a real estate agent to guide you.  Whether you an existing home buyer or a new one you can benefit from their expertise.

So, you’re looking for the perfect house for sale Colorado Springs? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Choosing the right house is a huge deal. For many years to come, this house will become your home. We all wish we could search through homes, find our dream home, and call it a day. But sometimes purchasing a home isn’t quite so simple. Just because a home has your ideal design doesn’t mean it is the home for you. There are many other things that you must consider first. Let’s take a look at the four C’s of home buying to help you find the right house in Colorado Springs.

The first C of home buying is cost. This is a biggie. Just because you have found your dream home doesn’t mean you can afford it. Buying a home includes many considerations. Not only will you need to pay for the home, but you will also have property taxes, utility bills, water bills, and other bills that come along with purchasing a house. It is important to take each of these things into consideration when determining how much you can afford. Once you have decided how much you can afford, search only within your price range. Searching above your means may lead you to find your perfect home, only to be crushed that you can’t actually have it. Searching within your financial means will ensure that you find a house you can love and can afford in Colorado Springs.

When looking for a house for sale in Colorado Springs, the second thing you must consider is capacity. Does the house have enough room to fit all of your belongings and your family? When searching for a home in Colorado Springs, be sure to let your realtor know exactly what you are looking for in terms of capacity. Are you looking for 1,2,3, or 4 bedrooms? Do you need a garage? What about a backyard? Is it necessary to have more than one bathroom? Sharing your needs with your realtor will help them to narrow down your search, ensuring that you only explore houses that meet those needs.

The third “C” of house shopping in Colorado Springs is convenience. When purchasing a home, you will want it to be in a convenient location. Perhaps you will want to look for a home that is close to your work. Or, if you have children, you may want to search for a home that is close to a good school. Once again, letting your real estate agent know exactly what you are looking for will help to narrow down your search, making you one step closer to buying your ideal home.

The final “C” of purchasing a house in Colorado Springs is condition. Just because you have found a house that looks great on the outside, doesn’t mean that it is in good condition. Before you make your final buy, always be sure to have a home inspector come in to check for anything that you may not be able to spot on your own. The majority of houses you come across will be in great condition, but it is important to double check before you buy.

So, there you have it – the four C’s of purchasing a home. Use these to help you find the perfect homes for sale Colorado Springs for you and your family in!

Buying a home is one of the biggest and most important investments you will ever make. This is why choosing a home should never be a snap decision and should only be based on the best and most reliable information there is. When searching for Colorado Springs homes, your first step is to hire a realtor. A Colorado Springs home realtor will able to guide you through the process of finding the perfect home, ensuring that you get the most for your money. Let’s take a look at some of the many ways a realtor can help you to find Colorado Springs homes.

Upon meeting with a realtor for the first time, one of the first things that you will discuss is your personal preferences. Because Colorado Springs real estate agents are familiar with the homes in the area, they will be able to match your needs with the perfect home. Be sure to tell the realtor what your budget is, what size you are looking for, what features you are looking for, and how close you wish to be to schools, hospitals, or other amenities. Once your realtor has this information, they can search through their MLS system, narrowing down houses in Colorado Springs to ones that match your needs.

If you are unsure of how to go about getting a loan or are unsure of how much you can afford, a realtor can help you with this as well. Purchasing a home involves a lot of financial investments, some that we may not think of right away (utilities, land taxes, etc). Realtors can help you assess your financial alternatives, as well as help you determine how much you can actually afford after all costs are taken into consideration.

When searching for Colorado Springs homes, it is important to hire a Colorado Springs realtor. Colorado Springs realtors are extremely familiar with the different neighborhoods and will therefore be able to provide you with accurate information about your potential living area. Whether you want to know about zoning laws, property taxes, utility costs, or community services, your Colorado Springs realtor will be able to answer all of your questions.

Once you have found your ideal Colorado Springs home, your realtor will be able to help you negotiate the terms of your purchase. Your realtor will communicate to the seller for you, negotiating deals until both parties are happy with the purchasing terms. Once the negotiations are final, your Colorado Springs realtor will help you to handle all of the legal processes involved in purchasing a home. This will involve things such as purchasing home insurance, registering your mortgage, and your legal fees.

If you are looking at Colorado Springs homes, be sure that you hire a realtor to help you in your journey. A Colorado Springs agent will be able to guide you through the process of finding a home, negotiating with the seller, and completing all legal paperwork. Search for Colorado Springs home realtor today and be one step closer to finding your dream home.

As property values have been falling, it’s a great time for home buyers to find good deals on Colorado Springs homes that are for sale whether you are looking for that perfect retail home or want to save a little more money by purchasing a short sale or REO property. While now is the time to take advantage of great pricing, you need to ask yourself if you are ready and willing to make a commitment to stay in the house for a few years. When people buy a home, they anticipate growing equity in their home over time. There was a time, not too long ago, where this happened pretty quickly, however, in today’s market, it takes longer. When you add in the transaction costs involved in buying and selling a home, you could find yourself losing money on your home if you try to sell too quickly. So, first things first - can you can make the commitment to stay in the home for a few years?

Some other questions you should answer before you and your Pink Realty agent go out to find your dream home:

• When do you want buy? Depending on the time of year you begin house hunting, the market may be slower. For instance, if you are buying in the colder seasons (i.e., through the holidays), sellers may be more willing to offer incentives or be more flexible on price.

• If you aren’t in a hurry to buy, you might want to consider buying a home that is being sold as a short sale. The short sale process does take longer than a typical retail sale, but if you have the time to work through the process, you will have the opportunity to get more house for your dollar if you buy a short sale.

• What part of town and what neighborhoods do you want to live in? Colorado Springs neighborhoods that have better schools tend to have higher values. Even if you don’t have school-aged children, it’s an important aspect to consider when it does come time to sell because resale values will be higher.
• Be sure the neighborhood you choose is one you can commit to staying in for a while, so do some research on different Colorado Springs neighborhoods to find out about property values and if houses are selling close to their asking prices. Find out about the attributes that are important to you such as schools, shopping, recreation, homeowners associations and dues, crime rates, etc. Remember that your Pink Realty agent can help you find any of this information that is of interest to you. Just call us at 719-393-7465 (Pink) to get started.

• How many houses in the neighborhood are for sale and how fast are they selling? Talk to neighbors to see how they like the neighborhood. If they are selling, ask why they are selling. Again, consider your lifestyle and make sure the neighborhood will work for you.

Another very important aspect of buying a house is financing. The average person needs to obtain a mortgage in order to purchase a home, and getting a mortgage these days isn’t as easy as it used to be! The human element of issuing credit has been removed from credit transactions, so the approval or denial of a mortgage is determined by your credit score. Your credit score is determined by the information that is in your credit report. Therefore, you need to know what’s in your credit report and what your credit score is. Knowing this information helps in several ways. If your credit score falls short of the approval requirements, you will have an idea of what you’ll need to do to raise your score. Again, if you need help with this, just call Pink Realty at 719-393-7465 (Pink) and ask to speak to our loan specialist and she will be happy to help you with any loan or credit issues or questions you may have. If you have great credit and a high score, you will have some negotiating power when it comes time to determine interest rates and points. You are entitled to free copies of your credit report annually from all three credit bureau reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Actually obtaining your credit score generally costs a fee, however, you can have a lender pull your credit report and tell you your credit score for free. Most conventional lenders ideally look for a credit score of 720 or higher. In today’s economy, there aren’t many people with scores that high. If you don’t qualify for a conventional loan, you can apply for an FHA or VA loan. While FHA has their own credit score requirement of 580 or higher, many lenders add their own requirements to FHA financing.

If you find your credit score doesn’t qualify you for a mortgage, you will need to do some homework to get your scores up. We have posted previous articles on credit reports and repairing your credit. You can review these articles to learn about how you can repair your credit or just call the Pink Realty office at 719-393-7465 (Pink) and ask to speak to our lender. She can definitely help.

If your credit is strong enough to qualify you for a mortgage, the next thing to figure out is how much of a mortgage can you realistically afford. An industry rule of thumb says you can afford a mortgage that is 2-1/2 times your annual salary, but this rule of thumb doesn’t take into consideration your monthly debt and living expenses. To better determine what you can afford, you can use an online mortgage calculator. These calculators take into consideration your income and your monthly debt payments to give you a more realistic mortgage amount for your budget.

Once you know the amount of the mortgage you can afford, the next thing to determine is how much cash you have available for a down payment. Most conventional loans require 20% of the purchase price as a down payment to avoid private mortgage insurance. If you don’t have 20%, you can put as little as 5% down if you agree to have private mortgage insurance added to your loan. If you qualify for FHA financing, you may only have to put down 3-1/2% of the purchase price. Depending on how much cash you have to put down will also determine how much of a mortgage you can afford. As you can see, it’s important to know if you can obtain a mortgage, how much of a mortgage you can afford and how much you can afford for a down payment. Knowing the answers will help you determine what price range you and your Pink Realty agent need to be looking in for your new home.

If you are confident you will qualify for a mortgage, it’s time to have contact your Pink Realty agent and start looking for your dream home. You want to pick a lender and a real estate agent who will work for you and take your interests to heart.

Once you have been approved for your mortgage, you don’t want to do anything to change your credit report or your financial situation. Therefore, avoid doing any of the following:

• Don’t apply for new credit. Inquiries affect your score and will have to be explained to your lender.

• Don’t incur more debt. This means don’t increase your credit card balances or credit lines and don’t take out any new loans. It will affect negatively affect your debt to asset ratio.

• Keep accounts current and make payments on time.

• Don’t pay off collections or charge off accounts, don’t close any credit card accounts and don’t consolidate debt into one or two credit cards.

• Don’t make any large deposits other than your standard payroll as all deposits will have to be explained.

• Don’t make any large cash purchases as it will lower the amount of verified funds in your bank accounts.

• Don’t change jobs without talking with your loan officer first.

OK, now that you know your credit is good, you know how much cash you have to put down, you are working with a Pink Realty agent and you know what neighborhoods you are interested in living in. Congratulations! You have just crossed the first big hurdle.

Now it’s time to start looking for the house that’s right for you. While you can comb the internet and newspaper ads to find houses yourself, it can easily become overwhelming with the large inventory of homes that are on the market. To save you time and miles of legwork, your Pink Realty agent will do all of this work for you. They can narrow houses down based on your interests and your budget and when it comes time to making an offer, signing contracts, disclosures, and addendums, they are there to help you understand what it all means.

Here are some tips that will make things easier as you and your Pink Realty agent look for your Colorado Springs dream home.

• Make a list of things the house must have and a list of what you would like to have. Prioritize your list and separate the ‘have-to-have’ from the ‘want-to-have’. Don’t be too restrictive on your search criteria. For instance, include a price range that is 10% above and 10% below your budget.

• Bring a notebook and camera with you to help you remember the details of each house. Take pictures and take notes about each because after you have seen several, you can easily forget details or get the details and houses mixed up!

• With each house you see, keep an open mind. Don’t reject a house just because it was short a few features on your wish list or was a bit out of your price range. Remember, the asking price is simply a starting point. You will have an opportunity to negotiate once you are ready to make an offer.

Once you have found the home you want, work with your Pink Realty agent to determine what your offer should be. Depending on the market and the area, you may have to act quickly. Your agent should have a good idea about what homes in that neighborhood are selling for and to know how close your original offer should be to the asking price. Additionally, you should discuss what terms you would like in the contract such as how quickly you want to close, what stays with the house, how much earnest money you have to put down, and so on.

When you have settled on a home and are in the process of negotiating a final price, you will have the contract contingent up the results of a home inspection. Have a licensed inspector inspect the home to see if there are any major repair surprises. Home inspects can check the heating, plumbing, electric, roof, etc. to see if there might be some foreseeable issues in the future. You may want to ask for a home warranty as well. There are all things your Pink Realty can help you will.

Buying a beautiful Colorado Springs homes is no easy task, but it is a very rewarding experience when you know what to expect and you are working with the professionals at Pink Realty who have your best interests at heart. We have experienced buyer’s agents who will work with you to find the home of your dreams. You can also use our professional in-house lender that will get you an affordable mortgage and help you with credit repair if you need help with that. Whether it’s a retail property or a short sale, they are professionals, knowledgeable and experienced. Additionally, we have an outstanding short sale team that not only has a very high success rate but also takes great pride in getting the deals closed in a timely manner. We are the ones to call!